


Variá Kardiá (βαριά καρδιά)

by BlackBlood1872



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Post-Series, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sexual Content, The Relationship is The Plot, everyone is of-age, i dunno, it's cavity-inducing really, kinda sorta maybe a little bit PWP, mentions of drinking, there's kinda a plot, this is a Lime on the Citrus Scale, what are tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-17
Updated: 2015-10-17
Packaged: 2018-04-26 20:34:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5019499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackBlood1872/pseuds/BlackBlood1872
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Nico's eighteenth birthday, Jason thinks it would be a great idea to take him drinking. And the good thing about being half god is that alcohol doesn't affect you as much as it does the mortals.</p><p>The bad thing about it is that Jason spends most of the night and most of their money trying to get them both at least buzzed. And then Nico's wandering New York at two in the morning, and what happens next is almost a forgone conclusion. </p><p>Except, you know, the part where he gets a boyfriend. Talk about birthday presents, am I right?</p><p>[yes hello, I present you with Percico smut, I've never done this before, be nice to me]<br/>[also, the summary is bad because how do you summarize this stuff?]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Variá Kardiá (βαριά καρδιά)

**Author's Note:**

> Started writing this: 09/21/2015  
> Unbeta'd
> 
> I want to preface this saying that while I've been reading smut since I was fourteen (yeah I know, bad child me), I only started _writing_ it in June of 2014. So this might not be that great, even if it is about the sixth smutty thing I've written.  
>  Also, this is pretty much just smut writing practice, and really self-indulgent, so that's why it might seem... random? Well, you'll see as you read :)

_"It'll be fun!"_ Nico remembers Jason telling him as the Roman dragged the newly eighteen year old into a bar. He also remembers how they ordered as many different drinks as Jason wanted, to let Nico find what he liked, and how after the fifth mug and seventh shot, Nico doesn't remember what he's drinking. Only that it's bitter on the way down, and makes his head too hot when it settles.

The good thing, of course, is that the effect wears off quicker than it does on full mortals, because godly blood has to have some bonuses outside of battle.

The bad thing that comes of this good thing is that demigods can't get drunk as quickly at mortals, and Jason spent most of the night and almost all their money trying to reach that state.

In the end, they both get kicked out a little bit after one in the morning, and end up wandering New York in a defenseless haze. Jason, being older and more used to this poison, recovers slightly faster than Nico, and manages to summon a cab back to Camp.

Nico declines the offer to ride with him. He wants more time in open air to clear his head, and anyway, he can always shadow travel back to Camp. Jason shrugs, wishes him luck in staying away from trouble, and disappears in a blur as the taxi speeds off.

Nico continues walking.

About half an hour later, Nico feels alive enough to control his shadows. He doesn't go to Camp, though. Of course he doesn't; his head is still fuzzy, and the shadows take him where he _wants_ to go, whether or not that's where he _should_ go.

(Tomorrow, he'll thank this unconscious decision.

But it's not tomorrow yet, and at the moment, this choice just fills him with nerves that won't settle.)

* * *

 _This is stupid,_ Nico thinks as he stands on the fire escape, leaning against the window to watch the man inside. Percy is asleep, as he should be since it's barely two in the morning.

But there's nowhere else Nico would want to sleep off his hangover than here. He slides open the window (which Percy should start locking, honestly, what if Nico was a burglar or something?) and crawls inside as quietly as he can. Which isn't as quiet as he thought, because Percy is sitting up and frowning at him.

"Nico?" he mumbles. "What are you doing here?"

Nico flounders for something to say, and Percy leans forward, nose twitching.

"Are you drunk?" he asks. Nico grimaces but nods a little. Percy sighs and then, to Nico's surprise and secret longing, lays back down and lifts the covers. "Well?" he asks when he sees that Nico hasn't moved. "Get over here."

"Okay," Nico says and tries not to admit that his voice squeaked. He's eighteen years old; his voice doesn't _squeak_.

He ends up chest to chest with Percy, who just closes his eyes and wraps an arm around him. Nico dares to shuffle a little closer, moving his arms to hug him, and presses his face to Percy's collarbone.

There's silence for probably a minute – Nico can't tell how long – before he feels compelled to speak. It's probably the alcohol's fault.

"I'm still in love with you," he tells Percy's shirt. "I was lying when I said I was over you. And that you weren't my type."

Percy sighs through his nose and tucks Nico even closer to him. "Go to sleep," he mumbles. Nico nods and tries to do so.

It's probably the alcohol, but just before he drifts off, he feels Percy press a kiss to the top of his head.

* * *

When he wakes that morning, it's with a headache and a different sleeping position than the night before. Now, Percy is laying on his back with his arm around Nico's shoulder, his hand in Nico's hair, and his other arm thrown wide. Nico is on his stomach, half-sprawled over the other man, their legs tangled together. His arm is curled over Percy's torso, and Percy shivers when Nico traces circles on his chest.

Nico's face is positioned so that closing the distance between his mouth and Percy's neck can't be easier. So he does, pressing light, closed mouth kisses to the skin. Butterfly kisses, he thinks they're called. He doesn't really care; what he cares about are the tiny sounds Percy starts to make, and the way his back aches just an inch off the bed when Nico sucks on the point where his neck connects with his shoulder.

Maybe it's the hangover, but Nico feels daring and shifts closer to Percy, his semi pressing against Percy's hip.

Percy wakes when Nico finds a spot just below his ear that, when he sucks on it, makes Percy start to twitch. Nico freezes, terrified, but Percy, who is much more awake than Nico thought, rolls them over so he's leaning over Nico, caging him in with his elbows beside Nico's head and a sleepy glower on his face.

Nico will never admit it, but that makes his heart skip and his erection swell.

Percy doesn't say anything, but his frown makes Nico want to explain. "I told you I lied before. When I said you weren't my type."

"I thought you might have," Percy admitted with the start of a cocky smirk. "I'm _everyone's_ type."

Nico rolls his eyes so hard his headache complains. "You're so full of yourself."

Percy grins and leans down to brush his lips next to Nico's ear. "I'd rather be full of you," he whispers.

Nico chokes.

But he can't respond, because suddenly there's a hand rubbing his cock and Nico throws his head back with a gasp. There's still cloth between them, but the texture of his jeans make the friction better and Nico can't stop his hips from moving to get more.

The bed shifts and Nico opens his eyes to see Percy straddling his legs, working to open his jeans.

Nico lifts his hips to help Percy get them off and Percy does, flinging them into the darkness of his room. Nico absently thinks that he'll probably never find them again.

Percy starts stroking him again and it's better now, but Nico would like it a lot more if there wasn't any cloth in the way at all. Through force of will, Nico pushes himself up and starts tugging at Percy's shirt.

Soon, they're left in only their shorts and Nico's heart skips when he notices that, yes actually, Percy's hard too and this isn't just some horrible joke. He reaches and touches it and Percy bites his lip, his eyes closing. The daring comes back, and Nico pushes him down so he's on top and instead of using his hand, grinds their erections together. Percy gasps and wraps his arms around Nico, pulling him down.

Their lips meet and Percy licks his way in during the pause when Nico's brain stalls. He snaps out of it and groans when Percy's tongue caresses his own and he responds as best he can. He's not the greatest kisser, since this is his first kiss that he can remember, but Percy doesn't seem to care. It's messy and Nico wants to take offense to that – first kisses are supposed to be romantic or something – but Percy snaps his hips up and the thought flees his mind.

They rut and kiss for an indeterminate amount of time – Nico can't find the concentration to keep track. All he knows is that soon he's left as a gasping, twitching mess, on his back because of a position change he can't remember, with Percy kissing his neck and grinding their hips together with no rhythm because he's as lost in the sensations as Nico is.

And then it's too much, the heat in his stomach grows too great and Nico tries to give Percy a warning but his ability to speak is so far gone between all of this and his hangover, that all he manages is a choked gasp as he comes so hard, he sees stars.

Above him, Percy bites Nico's shoulder to muffle his own shout. Nico groans in his post-orgasmic haze, unsure if he should like the pain Percy's putting him through as much as he does. The bite turns into a lick and soft kiss to the abused area as Percy goes limp on top of him and Nico huffs out a wheeze because _damn_ if Percy isn't heavy.

"Sorry," Percy says, and shifts so most of him is laying next to Nico rather than on him, though one arm remains wrapped around him. His head tilts so he's looking at Nico, his ear pressed to his collar, and Nico traces his cheek with light fingers. Percy closes his eyes and leans into it.

It's only then, with Percy snuggled against him and halfway back to sleep, that the event really registers. "Holy _shit_ ," Nico murmurs, and Percy laughs.

" _That's_ the first thing you say after this?" Percy questions, pushing himself up on his elbows to better look at Nico. The younger of them feels his heart skip a beat and he bites his lip unconsciously. Percy tracks the movement and leans down, stopping when their noses brush. "I'm going to kiss you," he announces, and waits.

Nico sucks in a shaking breath, heart racing. That's ridiculous though; after what they just did, a kiss is pretty minor. But— it feels like so much more. It's a turning point, because now they're both entirely aware, and this kiss means more than just a relief of morning tension.

So Nico nods, the tiniest fraction of a movement, and pushes himself up to meet Percy halfway. At first, it's soft and chaste, and it's only a brush. Then Percy presses forward, sealing their lips and pushing Nico back onto the mattress. Nico's hands curl into his hair, and he tilts his head to the side, just enough that he can take Percy's bottom lip between his and suck.

Percy makes a tiny nose that sends a jolt down Nico's entire body and his grip tightens. But then Percy pulls away as far as he can with Nico's hands holding his head, which is only just enough that he can breathe again, his breaths washing over Nico's mouth. He bumps their noses together with a grin, and Nico chuckles, heeding Percy's silent request and moving his hands to his shoulders. Another nose rub – Eskimo kiss, his mind supplies – and Percy settles back into his cuddling spot with a content sigh.

Nico threads his fingers into Percy's hair, and lets himself drift back to sleep.

* * *

When Nico wakes up again, it's to an empty bed and movement in another part of the apartment. He spends a long moment curled up in the warm sheets, dozing until his mind kickstarts, undiagnosed ADHD bringing him to and keeping him in the land of the living.

Nico leaves the bed with a groan, and uses the sunlight cutting through the curtains to try and find his clothing. He manages to find his shirt, but as he'd thought that morning, his jeans have mysteriously vanished into the mess on Percy's floor.

He settles for grabbing a pair of pajama bottoms that are probably a few years old and only just too big for him, and tries to steady his randomly beating heart. So what if he's wearing Percy's clothing, waking up in Percy's bed after making out and getting off with him. It means nothing until words have been said about it.

The bedroom door is open just a crack, and it's silent as Nico inches his way out, eyes scanning for his companion. The sounds are louder without the door in the way, and Nico makes out humming and clanging. With cautious steps, he moves towards it.

The small hallway opens out into the living room and the kitchenette, the two spaces separated by an island that is currently home to a fishbowl – occupied – and an assortment of blue breakfast foods.

Percy is standing in front of the stove, making what are probably blue blueberry pancakes, wearing only an apron over his boxers.

Nico's eyes greedily trace the curves of his body, and observes how mused his hair is, and feels his heart beat faster. Then Percy looks at him over his shoulder before Nico can look away and his lips tug up into a lopsided grin. There's some emotion in his eyes that Nico is scared to name.

"Good morning," Percy offers cheerily, moving back to his cooking. Nico sucks in a deep breath because he can now that he's out of that gaze, and sits on one of the kitchen chairs when his legs shake, just a bit.

"Morning," he croaks back, and immediately wants to hit himself. Because he doesn't _squeak_ , he doesn't _croak_ , what is wrong with him?

The answer to that question is _Percy_ , as it always is, always has been, and probably always will be. Nico wants to label his crush – his _obsession_ – as pathetic, but that doesn't make it any less true. Because, it's been _eight years_ since these feelings surfaced, and maybe it's him, maybe it's Percy, but it's very hard to squash them down.

(He tried, back when he was fifteen, right after the war against Gaea. He went right up to the man, lied to him in an effort to make it the truth, and almost made himself believe it. Then he saw Percy, grinning and laughing with the rest of the Prophecy Seven, and all his resolve vanished.

Get over Percy? It's not possible.)

As he watches Percy putter through the kitchen, half-naked and unabashed, Nico tries to remember the reasons he gave to himself for why he should stop caring about this man that way. He can't recall them, nor does he actually want to. What do they matter anyway, after all this time?

Or after this morning. That's something Nico wants to recall, and does, all the while hoping that his hair is long enough to cover his blush.

When Percy finishes making them breakfast, he places the last plate on the island, and leans his hip against it. He's staring at Nico with that expression from before – fond eyes, _boyfriend_ eyes – and the question escapes Nico before he can censor himself.

"Does this mean you like me?" he blurts, and feels ridiculous. Percy snorts.

"Like you? Really?" he asks back, and Nico's heart sinks for one second before Percy continues. "Of course I do. What, do you think I have sex with every guy that crawls through my window?"

Nico flushes and suddenly can't seem to look Percy in the eye. He runs a hand through his hair and tugs at the ends, then shrugs. He certainly _hopes_ Percy doesn't do that, and is pretty sure he doesn't, but, well. Nico isn't known for his self-esteem, he knows that much.

He hears a sigh, and then footsteps, and suddenly Percy is in his line of sight again, face only inches from his own. His breathing stutters. Percy cards a hand through his hair and catches the one still in it, lacing their fingers together like it's the most natural thing in the world.

"Hey. Don't close up on me, okay?" he all but begs, and Nico can do nothing but suck in a deep breath and nod. Percy smiles, slow and sweet, and rubs his nose against Nico's.

In the part of Nico's mind that's working right now, he notes that Percy does that a lot.

That part, the part capable of actual thought, is a tiny part, and most of his mind is filled with a buzzing noise because Percy is kissing him again, and that becomes his whole world. He presses into it, and his free hand grips Percy's hip to balance himself. Percy's hand goes to the chair, bracing his arm against it so he can keep upright while leaning over Nico.

In his unthinking state, Nico feels just bold enough to go further, opening his mouth into the kiss and swiping his tongue over Percy's bottom lip. Percy responds by tilting his head and meeting Nico's tongue with his own. The contact sends a charge through his entire body, and the skeletal butterflies that have never really left pick up into a frenzy. His heart feels like it's going to beat out of his chest as their kiss goes deeper, and his face feels like it's on fire.

There's also the little issue of _air_ , and after a few more desperate seconds, they have to pull apart to breathe.

In the silence that follows the end of their liplock, Nico draws up his courage.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" he asks. Percy leans in for another quick, chaste kiss, and when he pulls away, he's grinning.

"Of course," he says, and for the first time in years, Nico doesn't have to force the smile that lights up his face.

 _I love you_ , he wants to say, but decides to say it with a kiss instead.

He notices that he kisses Percy a lot now. Percy isn't complaining about it, however, and Nico definitely isn't going to stop now that he has the go-ahead. Kissing Percy is about the best thing in the world, and Nico is not going to give that up.

The second best thing is that he doesn't have to.

**Author's Note:**

> There is a whole lot of back story that isn't even touched in this fic. Like how it's been 3 years since the Gaea war (that was mentioned), and how Percabeth broke up about a year after the battle (and how Annabeth is now dating a clear-sighted mortal woman, but that's just a random headcanon of mine), and how Percy is totally Bi- or Pansexual because "the sea doesn't like to be restrained", and how they both maybe got some counseling regarding the whole "Tartarus" thing. Lots of stuff that makes this piece of fluffy smut make sense.
> 
> In Memory of Nico's Jeans  
> 2015-2017  
> (or whatever year this thing takes place in)  
> He will never find them again because Percy's floor ate them


End file.
